The Moth Diaries

Synopsis

Set in the 1960s at an exclusive boarding school beset by a series of disasters, the story is told in the voice of a 16-year-old who suspects a schoolmate is a vampire, responsible for a devastating illness afflicting her best friend.

This film is not currently playing on MUBI but 30 other great films are. See what’s now showing

Critics reviews

Harron was attempting to communicate honestly with teen and pre-teen girls, to make a movie with characters and situations they might recognize. Where the world refuses to stop turning just because crisis mounts for one girl.

well, it's not so captivating in the end but at least it has a certain visual aesthetic and I really like the way that the literary references are used,it's nice to see some characters surrounded with books once in a while.and it's not bad at all considering the other dozens of weak examples of the genre.

One of those rare films that carries an "R" rating while its dialogue and subject matter make it clear the story is aimed squarely at young teenage girls. Truthfully, the film deals with potent themes of jealousy and friendship that are relevant no matter what age you are. Hell: take away the vampire element, add a soundtrack by Goblin, and "Moth Diaries" could easily fit into Dario Argento's Eighties oeuvre.

With Mary Harron at the wheel, it is extra unforunate to see such a promising project fall so flat. An isolated Gothic boarding school, the anxieties and angst of teenage years, supernatural mystery - all goes to waste with spotty acting and cheap effects. There were some very atmospheric moments (raining blood in the library, for example), but otherwise there was very little that stood out.

This film, more than any other movie I've ever seen, captures the feeling of a modern Young Adult novel; as such it's more than a little tepid, flirts with dark imagery, and completely ordinary. I commend Harron for making a film for/about teenage girls, but I do wish she brought some of her biting, nearly balletic sense of pop satire.

I would have gobbled this up when I was 14, but I'm not 14, I'm 21 and my attention wavered throughout it. It felt very choppy, and I blame that for the actresses' poor performances – which is disappointing because it had a lot of potential to be ethereal and haunting in the same respect as "Let the Right One In".

Very poor progression; the writer(s) were clearly at a loss as how to adapt the book, whether due to a lack of skill or time, I don't know. The leading actors are not great, but not bad while the supporting cast is mostly not good. Visually, this is pretty, but unremarkable. Despite the en vogue elements, it has the potential to be better than it is.